Consumers' homes typically include separate physical networks to support the distribution of video, audio, telephony, and data. For example, coaxial cable (such as quad-shielded RG6 coax), is often installed in homes for the distribution of audio/video (e.g., cable television (“CATV”), satellite broadcast television, local broadcast television) signals, while speaker wire is installed for the distribution of audio signals. Conventional home phone lines carry telephony and data. For example, the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HPNA) 2.0 specification supports networking speeds of 10 megabits per second (Mb/S). Twisted pair wiring, such as Category of Performance 5 (“CAT 5”), CAT 5e, CAT 6, or CAT 7, can be installed to support telephony networking and broadband data networking. CAT 5 cabling can support applications requiring a carrier frequency of up to 100 megahertz (“MHz), and CAT 5e cabling can support signaling rates of up to 200 MHz over distances of up to 100 meters. Proposed cabling standards (proposed as of July, 2000) CAT 6 and CAT 7 are intended to support signaling rates of up to 250 MHz and 600 MHz respectively. Broadband data networking can also be supported by optical fiber cabling, such as Optical Carrier 3 (“OC-3”) or better. OC-3 fiber cabling can support data transmission rates of up to 155.52 Mb/S.
To support delivery of integrated services (e.g., Web-enhanced TV) over these separate physical networks, known digital set top boxes (“STBs”) typically have a plurality of physical interfaces for connection to the separate networks, e.g., a coax network interface for delivery of audio-video, a twisted pair network interface for broadband data networking, and other types of networks. In addition to having separate physical networks to handle video distribution, audio distribution, telephony networking, and broadband data networking, consumers often must learn to use different user interfaces for accessing and using video, audio, telephony and broadband data networking applications and services.
In the direct digital broadcast satellite TV business and in the digital cable TV business, service providers have started to introduce enhanced digital STBs that are Web-enabled and include computer hard drives for supporting the recording, storage, and playback of broadcast content. In addition, some enhanced digital STBs include two tuners so that a consumer can be watching one program while recording another program. The enhanced digital STBs can provide for pay-per-view movie delivery, but such services typically require the consumer to select a pay-per-view that is pre-scheduled for a particular time. For example, the consumer may have the choice of watching the pay-per-view movie at 8:00 p.m. or at 9:00 p.m. If the consumer, for example, wanted to watch the pay-per-view movie beginning at 7:00 p.m., she nevertheless would have to wait until 8:00 p.m. to begin viewing the pay-per-view movie.
The enhanced digital STBs are usually more expensive than a basic digital STB. Service providers have estimated that most households will be unlikely to purchase more than one of the enhanced digital STBs because of the significantly higher costs associated with the enhanced digital STBs (e.g., including Web-enablement, a hard drive, a second tuner). Although many consumers will have multiple digital STBs in their homes, it is likely that only one digital STB per home will be an enhanced digital STB. Therefore, consumers will only have access to enhanced services—such as video/audio on demand, interactive TV, Web surfing, e-mail, electronic shopping and recording/storing/playback of broadcast programs—when they are using their enhanced digital STB.
In view of the foregoing, it can be appreciated that a substantial need exists for systems and methods that can advantageously provide for a comprehensive digital residential entertainment system.